Lewis Hamilton Secures His First Pole Position With Ferrari as Honda Ruins Fernando Alonso’s Best Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has secured his first pole position with Ferrari. The British driver will start from P1 in Mexico after stopping the clock at 1:16.514, in a qualifying session marked by mistakes. In particular, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, who initially appeared fast enough to beat the Brit, faltered.

The flip side of the coin belongs to Fernando Alonso. The Asturian was enjoying his best weekend of the season, even fantasizing about reaching Q3, but another failure of his Honda engine left him eliminated in Q1. He had enough pace to consider a comeback; the question is reliability and horsepower.

Haas has sensationally sacked Esteban Ocon

Since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton had not secured a pole position in Formula 1, but this Saturday in Mexico the drought was broken. The seven-time world champion will start first, thereby delivering Ferrari’s first pole of the year, after a lap in which the main achievement was simply avoiding mistakes.

At first glance Charles Leclerc looked quickest, but an error in the fast sector relegated him to third. Verstappen also slipped on the final braking, leaving him in fourth, which will become fifth after the penalty he carries for his farcical incident with Liam Lawson, who was sanctioned on Friday as well.

Thus, the driver who will line up second is George Russell, who was a mere nine thousandths off the pole, while the title contender, Kimi Antonelli, will start fourth. The Italian only needs a top-nine finish to become the youngest champion in history, even if one of his rivals wins.

Lando Norris will start sixth while his teammate has been involved in something remarkable this season. With a McLaren, he has been eliminated in Q2, so Oscar Piastri will start thirteenth. Isack Hadjar is seventh, ahead of the two Racing Bulls, with positions altered due to Lawson’s penalty. Pierre Gasly was tenth.

Although the day’s story in Mexico revolved around Esteban Ocon. Haas decided to dismiss the French driver in a stunning move, without giving further explanations, though rumors suggested a physical confrontation. The Japanese Ryo Hirakawa, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans this very year, will make his debut by lining up nineteenth.

Alonso’s story grows increasingly surreal. Thanks to the thin air produced by Mexico’s altitude, his Aston Martin was more competitive than ever this weekend. But the Honda engine failed as soon as Q1 began. With the opening time, Alonso looked set to be eighteenth, but he will still have to claw his way through. Carlos Sainz advanced to Q2, but there he was the slowest.

Results: Formula 1 Mexico GP Qualifying 2026

Images | Alpine, Ferrari